Stacking device



Nov. 15, 1955 s. CAMERANO 2,723,851

STACKINQ DEVICE Filed Jan. 9, 1950 INVENTOR.

Hg. 2 SEBBQSTIAN CAMERA United States Patent STACKING DEVICE Sebastian Camerano, Clinton, Mass. Application January 9, 1950, Serial No. 137,652

9 Claims. (Cl. 271-86) This invention relates to new and improved devices for stacking and cooling waxed or coated envelopes and bags, special reference being had to envelopes and bags which are used to contain potato chips, corn chips and other greasy food materials and the like.

In the making of envelopes or bags of Waxy paper or coated paper, such envelopes or bags issue fromthe forming machine in a heated condition so that when stacked immediately they tend to adhere to each other as they cool and the larger the stack, the more pressure is created thereon and thus the adherence between the separate bags or envelopes becomes worse.

This invention has for its primary object the provision of an attachment or machine which acts continuously to spread out the heated bags or envelopes and to convey the same to a stacking device so that the bags or envelopes are substantially cooled by the time they are stacked; the provision of a device as above stated which is very simple in construction and operation and which comprises essentially a guide plate for directing the bags or envelopes as they issue from the forming machine into a certain relation onto a conveyor, said conveyor traveling the bags or envelopes one after the other or in slightly overlapped relation to the stacking device, the latter comprising an inclined plate disposed above the conveyor and catching and stopping the bags or envelopes, the same now being cooled and sliding up, one upon the other, into a stacked relation where they are easily removed in bunches by the operator.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a device as described including a guide plate which is stepped and arranged at an angle to the longitudinal direction of advance of the bags or envelopes from the forming machine, the bags, etc., falling by gravity down said stepped plate and being directed thereby due to the inclination thereof into a certain predetermined relation on a rotating table comprising a conveyor; in combination with a bumper or stop on the table, said bumper or stop assuming the form of a ring concentric with the axis of the table and positioning the bags or envelopes as they issue from the forming machine and as guided thereto by the inclined guiding plate whereby the envelopes or bags are carried around on said rotating table one after the other or in slightly overlapped relation so that prior to a single revolution they are cool and non-sticking.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view illustrating the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the table of Fig. 1 and illustrating the guide plate in side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the guide plate looking in the direction of arrow 4 in Fig. 1.

This invention comprises essentially an attachment which may be used with any paper forming or folding machine but is particularly adapted to be used with an envelope or bag making machine, the delivery end of which is generally indicated in broken lines at It) in Fig. 1, the finished but still warm envelopes or bags traveling in the direction of arrow 12 between rollers 14 and being delivered thereby on to a plate 16. This plate is provided with fingers or corrugations 18 which allow air circulation under the bags or envelopes and above the top surface of plate 16.

The plate 16 has an inclined forward edge 20 which steps down as at 22 on an inclination to the axis of roller 14 and to the general direction of advance of the envelopes or bags as illustrated by arrow 12. The part 22 may be referred to as a riser and it terminates in an inclined step 24 having a high side 26 and a lowermost side 28. V s

It will be seen that the forward edge 20 of the plate 16 is inclined as stated and, therefore, so also the riser 22 is inclined correspondingly, but the step 24 is inclined in two directions, downwardly from one side to the other, see Fig. 4, and in a horizontal plane forwardly corresponding to edge 20, see Fig. 1.

A rotating table or the like conveyor 30 is provided on a stand or base 32 of any desired construction. A bearing 34 is arranged having shaft 36 for the table and the table and shaft have a cooperating set screw and dent construction 38, so the table 30 may be adjusted vertically to suit different types of bag and envelope making machines. The table is arranged to rotate in the direction of the arrow 40 in Fig. 1.

The base 32 mounts an adjustable standard 42 having at its upper end a horizontally adjustable rod 44 overlying the table and carrying a plate 46 in a substantially radial direction to the table, the plate 46 being inclined down toward the table opposite the direction of rotation thereof. The rod 44 may also support a curved guide plate 4'8 which is adapted to prevent the envelopes from falling from the table when in stacked up relation against plate 46 as will be described hereinafter.

concentrically of the table and arranged on the shaft 36 there are provided a plurality of circular stop elements 50, 52 which act as bumpers. These bumpers may be interchanged or the element 52 removed and the element 50 used for the bumper; or the cylinder 54 may be used alone as a bumper for especially large envelopes or bags.

It is to be understood that the bags proceed rapidly in the direction of arrow 12, along the fingers 18 of plate 16, and are discharged one by one so as to drop and stop their forward motion against, for instance, the bumper element 52; but inasmuch as the table is rotating, the bags or envelopes are carried around at a speed slow enough not to disturb the arrangement so that they are still more or less in contact with the bumper. However, as they start to fall from the edge 20 their trailing edges land on the step 24 at about the same time the leading edge hits the bumper; so that the trailing edges are still on step 24 when the rotary eifect of the table is such as to start the envelope or bag rotating. The horizontal inclination of the riser 22 guides the trailing ends of the bags or envelopes into the bumper and prevents them from rebounding therefrom; and the vertical inclination seen in Fig. 4 provides for a gradual picking up of the envelope by the table so that the envelopes or bags do not merely fall directly down upon the table, this construction avoiding bumping or other disarrangement of the line of bags or envelopes.

It is necessary to ensure that all of the bags or envelopes fall upon and become transported by the table in uniform evenly spaced lines one after the other with no disruption of the line because without a somewhat even continuity of bags or envelopes, they will not stack evenly. However, the compound inclination of the guide plate 16 together with the bumper ensures an even flow of the bags or envelopes in the direction of the arrow 40 and by the time they reach the inclined stacking plate 46 the bags or envelopes are cool enough so that even though stacked, they will not adhere to each other.

Actually, the bags or envelopes become stacked against plate 46 in a row of inclined articles and present their edges at such an angle that they are easily picked up by the operator in bunches of 50 or 100.

It will be seen that this invention provides an attachment for cooling and stacking bags and envelopes of the type described and that by this relatively simple mechanism the advantages ofthe invention are'derived and other objects thereof attained.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be'limited to the details herein disclosed otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. Apparatus of the class described comprising a conveyor, means feeding articles in line to the conveyor, a stepped guide plate from said means'to the conveyor, an article stop in the path of the articles as theymove down the guide plate, and a stacking device above the conveyor receiving the articles as the latter move therealong, said stacking device being located at a relatively great distance from the guide plate in the direction of travel of the conveyor, the articles being received in spread out condition on the conveyor and stacked only after traveling for said distance in spread,non-stacked condition, the conveyor having actuating means moving the same at such speed with reference to the envelope feedingmeans as to spread out the envelopes in a substantially continuous line but with substantially the'enti're surface of each envelope fully exposed until the'stacking means is approached.

2. The method of cooling and stacking envelopes comprising feeding envelopes while still hot from an envelope forming operation onto a fiat horizontally moving 'surface, regulating the speed of movement of the moving surface with reference to the speed of feed of the envelopes thereto so that the envelopes will form a substantially continuous line on said surface without substantial overlap of the envelopes, whereby substantially the entire surface of each envelope is fully exposed for cooling purposes, continuing the movement of the envelopes until each leading envelope has been cooled sufficiently so that it will not stick to adjacent envelopes, and stacking the cooled envelopes by bringing them successively into contact with an inclined stacking and stopping device.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising a conveyor, means feeding articles in line to the conveyor, a stepped guide plate from said means to the conveyor, an article stop in the path of the articles as they move down the guide plate, and a stacking device above the conveyor receiving the articles as the latter move therealong, said guide plate having a riser inclined horizontally to crowd the articles against the bumper by contact of the trail ing ends of the articles, the conveyor having actuating means moving the same at such speed with reference to the envelope feeding means as to spread out the envelopes in a substantially continuous line but with substantially the entire surface of each envelope fully exposed until the stacking means is approached.

4. Apparatus of the class described comprising a conveyor, means feeding articles in line to the conveyor, a stepped guide plate from said means to the conveyor, an article stop in the path of the articles as they move down the guide plate, and a stacking device above the conveyor receiving the articles as the latter move therealong, said guide plate having a riser inclined horizontally to crowd the articles against the bumper by contact of the trailing ends of the articles and the guide plate having a step below the riser inclined downwards toward the conveyor, the conveyor having actuating means moving the same at such speed with reference to the envelope feeding means as to spread out the envelopes in a substantially continuous line but with substantially the entire surface of each envelope fully exposed until the stacking means is approached.

5. Apparatus of the class described comprising a r0- tary table, an axial collar thereon, a stepped article guide leading articles radially of the table to the collar,"the latter stopping the articles in position to be carried revolubly about on the table, and an inclined radial plate above the table upon which the articles slide in stacked relation, the radial plate being removed from the guide plate in the direction of rotation of the table, the conveyor having actuating means moving the same at'such speed with reference to the envelope feeding means as to spread out the envelopes in a substantially continuous line but with substantially the entire surface of each envelope fully exposed until the stacking means is approached.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the guide plate is inclined down in the direction of travel of the table.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the guide plate is inclined forwardly in the direction of travel of the table.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the collar is selectively interchangeable.

9. The method of cooling and stacking envelopes comprising the steps of feeding heated envelopes onto a conveyer in spread-out flat condition in a single horizontal plane and in a substantially continuous line thereon with substantially the entire surface of each envelope fully exposed and stacking the envelopes only after the conveyor has carried the spread out envelopes far enough to allow the same to be cooled to a point where they do not stick together by bringing the envelopes into contact with the fixed stop while still carried by the conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 707,765 Elliot Aug. 26, 1902 1,006,902 Bickerton Oct. 24, 1911 1,019,059 Lewis Mar. 5, 1912 1,389,244 Free Aug. 30, 1921 1,450,027 England Mar. 27, 1923 1,461,746 Augustine July 17, 1923 1,540,687 Feistel June 2, 1925 1,581,583 Low Apr. 20, 1926 1,707,979 Glasgow Apr. 9, 1929 1,758,134 Weingartner May 13, 1930 1,802,775 Palmer Apr. 28, 1931 2,247,878 Gatto July 1, 1941 2,487,347 Malmros Nov. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 109,097 Australia Nov. 23, 1939 

